This Europe: Machismo wilts in La Mancha's body politic

The autonomous Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha plans to put equal numbers of women and men into its parliament for the first time with an equality law hailed as the most advanced in Europe.

The Socialist regional leader, Jose Bono, said his proposed law, expected to be approved shortly, guarantees equality in political representation. "We think it is time for women to be represented in decision-making institutions in the same proportion that they exist in society," he said.

Some countries in Europe, including France and Belgium, have minimum quotas for female political candidates, but none exceeds 35 per cent, Mr Bono said.

Castilla-La Mancha already has the highest proportion of female regional MPs in Spain – 40.43 per cent. But under the law, male and female candidates will be alternated on electoral lists, meaning that women are not only numerically equal but also have the same chance of being elected as men. Overall, 28.9 per cent of Spanish MPs are women, not bad given that 25 years ago a woman could not travel or open a bank account without her husband's permission. In Britain, 12.3 per cent of MPs are women, slightly lower than Portugal and just ahead of Italy.

Castilla-La Mancha's conservative opposition is torn: they prefer advancement through merit but cannot oppose the constitutional principle of women's equality.